Computer Art Final Portfolio - Proposal, Artwork, Artist Statement

Since the boom of graffiti from the late 60’s through the 90’s, it appears as if this particular art form has paralleled the life of a notorious celebrity; stardom, the minor fall, slow progression, the major fall, and now the attempted redemption aka selling out. With this present day ‘selling out’ comes the deep integration of street art into our society via advertisement/marketing, certain forms of media, etc. This paints a picture so skewed and publicized that it tends to question where the line is drawn: do we still call this graffiti if it’s displayed in a gallery, used by major companies to catch an eye, or for any other mainstream legal purpose? My six works of art will narrow down on the shift of graffiti from a crude, primitive form of notoriety into prized art worthy of gallery standards, and focus on the repressed meaning behind street art; the integration and acceptance of graffiti into the mainstream world through highly selective standards and surfaces. What does this shift mean? What may become of graffiti art if this transition into mainstream society continues? I aim to express the dynamics of graffiti as the hidden art, or ‘what used to be and what now is’ in present day terms, and express that line.

The street scene background and 'Cope2' framed artwork were taken from the 'Cope2' Blog on 12ozProphet.com, and is not my property(http://www.12ozprophet.com/images/sized/images/bloggers/cope2/Bronx-20111101-00014-664x498.jpg              http://www.12ozprophet.com/images/bloggers/cope2/Cope2_Rise_Invite_3.jpg). The 'Stak' framed picture is not mine either, found on Bombingscience.com.

Forgot the the target on this one, but the picture I laid on top of the canvas is also from 12ozProphet I believe..NOT the fill though, I replaced the fill to suit my theme.

For my six works, I chose to explore two heavily contrasted areas in art currently. The battle of street art versus fine art has always held a place in my heart, and makes subtle appearances in many of my outside (of the classroom) works. Because this class focused on using mediums relatively new to me (Photoshop, Corel Painter, etc.), I felt it would be interesting to ‘update’ this ongoing theme and incorporate it via computer art. Inside these six works, I aimed to not keep separate the idea of gritty street art and fine art, but more so to fuck with the space where the two collide and controversy emerges.

By doing this it was first necessary to define what each side puts on the table and break down the elements of each. For street art, I had to make evident the culture and passion, and essence of crime and amateurism that is derived from the art form. For gallery art I had to keep in mind the high-class style with its clean/professional presentation, and confidence which brings that art to that higher level. I was then able to distinguish the two, explore the stereotype of both sides, and begin collaborating ideas of how to mesh the two while creating visually appealing work that still maintains their individual dignity. After this, I focused on creating works revolving around the idea of street art that is transferred into a gallery setting, in other words, ‘selling out.’ To emphasize this, I kept in mind the strong and dramatic lighting, interesting compositions, and subject matter which requires some degree of prior knowledge. These features are apparent in most of the works. Where my line of work introduces a new subject however, is the newspaper article piece. This particular work steps away from the ‘gallery appeal’ of my other works and brings it to the most basic street level, where most people considering graffiti vandalism, contrary to the graffiti artist seeing an object as an open canvas. I felt this piece was necessary because the flow of the works seemed to focus solely on gallery art, and by incorporating this work with its strong ‘graffiti as art’ perspective, it would help to shift the mood to center on the actual intentions of graffiti as a pure art form. This also helps to open the door to many possible works to come, and even transition the perspective completely.

 While retaining their visual appeal, the end products create something unsettling, a subtle hint of tension without losing their sense of unity. And by creating a minor shift in the style of works, the viewer is almost forced to understand the actual intention of street art, while never having to pick up a spray can. Still, both sides remain intertwined in harmony, competing for the viewers’ attention, fighting for who is staying true to the art.